Positive Psychology

In 1998 Seligman was elected President of the American Psychological Association. In his Presidential Address, Seligman discussed the state of psychology at that time, claiming the field had neglected some of it's original aims. He accused psychology of focusing almost exclusively on the disease model. To read about the dawn on a new branch of psychology: 

Seligman, M. E. P. & Csikszentmihalyi M., (2000) Positive Psychology: An Introduction, American Psychologist, Vol 55 (1), 5-14. 

Click here to watch my TED ED lesson on Martin Seligman: The new era of positive psychology.

PERMA - A model of Wellbeing

In this video Martin Seligman explains his theory of PERMA. This theory encompasses the elements of Positive Emotions,  Engagement, Positive Relationships, Meaning and Accomplishment. This theory has since been expanded into PERMA+ in which the + incorporates physical activity, nutrition, sleep and optimism.  

To explore this framework more see:


Seligman, M. (2012). Flourish. Sydney, Australia. Random House.